In Va., Huckabee Again Shows Strength on Right

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The Candidates React -- McCain

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) addresses his supporters from Alexandria, Va. after Tuesday's Potomac primary election results filter in.

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In Virginia, McCain had the support of Sen. John W. Warner and Rep. Thomas M. Davis III, and in Maryland he was backed by former governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. McCain rallied in Richmond on Monday, after campaigning with Ehrlich in Annapolis, where McCain said he planned to be competitive in the heavily Democratic state in the general election.

McCain found backing from voters who commended his national security credentials and others who said former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani had been their first choice. In Arlington, Bill Briggs, 30, who has two brothers in the military, said he has supported McCain since 2000. "It just helps to have someone in the military who's been there, who's actually been through the worst of war," he said.

Ehrlich, who campaigned with McCain twice in the past week, said the senator is pragmatic about the challenge of pulling the party together. He said he hopes Huckabee stays in the race to keep McCain sharp for the general election.

"He knows he has some repairs to do, and he appears to be going about his business in a workmanlike way," said Ehrlich, who initially backed Giuliani.

At stake for Republicans in the Potomac Primary were 113 delegates. Virginia and the District are winner-take-all contests for Republicans; Maryland delegates are apportioned based on vote totals.

Staff writers Jonathan Mummolo, Theresa Vargas and Raymond McCaffrey contributed to this report.